Improvement in burglar-proof safes



UNITED STATES LEVIS LILLlE, OF NEWARK, NE\V JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN BURGLAR-PROOF SAFES.

Speeitication forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,899, dated August 8, 1871.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line A l ot' Fig. l.

The nature ot" my invention consists in forming in the walls near the exterior surt'aces ot' sat'es, a series ot tubular spaces, which arey separately tilled with primed charges ot' powder and ball, or simply with powder or other explosive substance, aml may be so disposed that the sate eaunot be penetrated by a drill without puucturing some one ot' these pipes aml igniting the explosive material by the sparks evolved in drilling through the hard metal.

I am a vare that it has been proposed to construct sat'es with a thick inner aml thin outer shell ol' iron, and to till the intervening space which extended all around the sate with powder,which, on ignition by sparks evolved in drilling through the iron, would explode and blow ottI the outer shell. This application ot' explosives to sat'es as a protection against burglars is subject to the serious objections that it not only imperils the lives of the burglars and creates all alarlu, but that the explosion involves the destruction oi the satie and at least partial destruction ot the building, while it also endangers the lives ot' persons in the adjoining buildings. lt is also detective t'or the reason that no means are provided for exploding the powder by percussion, so that the outer shell may be tractured by blows and the powder drawn ott or tiooded before proceeding to drill through the inner shell. All these objections are overcome by me by the use ot' non-commuilicating tubular spaces, some or all ot' which contain primed charges ot' powder and ball, which will explode by percussion, and in sut'ticient quantities to blow ottpieces ot the outer shell in their immediate vicinity, for the purpose otA creating au alarm and maiming` the burglar, but not sutticient to cause the total destruction ot' the safe and the building it is in.

The safes to which my iml'irovements are applied should be made ot' such hard metal that a drill cannot penetrate it without generating' sparks or sut'licient heat to ignite powder. All around near the outer surt'ace tubular spaces a are formed, either by coring or inlaying ot' pipes, in which spacesthe explosives are inserted. 'lhese spaces may be tilled with powderalone,and some ot' them with nitro-glycerine, to deter burglars t'rom using a sledge, or they may be illed in whole or iu part with powder and ball, primed with percussioll-powdel'. In the latter case the several cartridges will be connected by suitable fuses to provide t'or a succession ot' discharges, whieh,should theburglarescapeuiiharined,would create such an alarm as tocausehim to seek safety in tiight. The charges can be inserted both t'rom the door-jamb and trom behind, the holes being closed with scrcwplugs. Charges may also be inserted in the spindles ot' the lock, rendering dangerous any attempt to drive or bore them. ln the jambs ot' the sat'e the pipes are so placed that a wedge, it' used, must strike one ot' them, and cutting' through, evolve sparks in striking the tirst rabbet, causing the explosion ot the powder. l propose, also, in some cases to insert ccntrally in each tube a square bar, otl the hardest ot' cast-steel, trom which sparks will be obtained beyond a doubt by the t'oreible eontactot thedrill. The metal ot' the walls ot' the sat'e inside ot' the tubular spaces is veryhard, and, beingalsothicker than that outside ot' such spaces, will not be at'- fected by the explosion ot any of the charges, which will only blow ot't' portions of the exterior metal.

lt maybe proper to statethat the simple knowledge ot' the construction of these safes will deter burglars from meddling with them, and that it will not be necessary, absolutely, to place the tubes so that they will protect the sat'e at all points.

\\'hat l claim as my inq'irovement in burglarproot' sai'es, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A sat'c, containing in its walls, near the eX- terior surtaee, a series ot.' tubular spaces, which are independent ot' one another, and separately filled with explosives, substantially in the manner and t'or the purposes set t'orth.

lYitnesses: LE\VIS LILLIE.

W. M. G'ooDtNG, EDWARD CoLLVER. 

